Bake Off. Too many Bake fails this year?

[Notmorecake]

Not once this series has Paul said that immortal line ..." this is taking baking to the next level" . I don't recall as many failed attempts and lack lustre show stoppers in previous series put together than this series alone has thrown up.

Maybe to add a bit of drama the contestants are being given less time to complete the task but I would rather see beautifully executed bakes than some of these poor failed attempts!

Not even any long lingering shots of tonight's show stoppers, were the cameras trying to hide something I wonder.

So what I'm asking is are this year's contestants a little bit less talented than those from previous years ?

I'll brace myself for a back lash of "could I do any better?" but no I couldn't. I restrict my bake fails to the privacy of my own kitchen!

I agree. The show is now more interested in drama than decent bakes.

I totally agree with crotchet. In fact, going with the musical theme, don't many wannabe musicians avoid Competitions because the winner is usually the 'safe' option. The real virtuoso are a bit out there, a bit marmite, are marching to their own tune and would never win these things.

Agree, to the showstoppers being not that great generally, not enough time, more difficult tasks, maybe contestants not quite as high quality as in earlier series, etc etc.
Maybe its had its day? was good up till now, but many series run their course. instead of taking it to ch4, just let it go?

Completely agree, OP. Think it's no bad thing that this is the last series on t BBC.

I can't wait for The Apprentice to begin now...

The quality of contestants in any programme like this always falls off over time because the best ones have been used up in previous series.

I agree about the time pressure but to some extent I think that is because more is expected in the time because of previous years - they are not so much into simple but very well done. I thought the last couple of seasons had very talented bakers. However, I remember the early season's being more mixed with simple bakes. For example, one early season had them baking macarons. Just macarons. By the later seasons the bakers were churning them out just to decorate their showstopper cakes.

I said the same about time limits and drama a few weeks ago. I don't want to watch 15 min of baking followed by 5 min of what went wrong, always not enough time. I've been getting less and less interested in the past few years, so this is really putting me off.

I don't think this year's group have been as good as previous years. I do like the gentle flirting between Benjamina and Selassi.

blueberry that is so true about the macarons. I saw that episode recently and Paul was going on about how difficult it is to make a good macaron, now they adorn every tart and cake.

I actually don't agree the contestants are not as good. I think it's more that the challenges have been ramped up. In the earlier series, tiered cakes and biscuit towers would be in the final rounds. now they are given them much earlier.

Custardgate and freezergate got people talking (though not about baking). It looks like they are setting challenges that make such dramas more likely.

I said the same to my friend. Last year there were so many amazing things like that bread lion and the gingerbread structures and themed cakes. My memory is pretty poor but Martha's ski resort cake with a working ski lift comes to mind. There's no one truly creative or polished imo. Some of this year's contestants seem to struggle with the basics - pastry that's under or over cooked, lemon curd too thick, sinking cakes etc. I don't think there are any stand out bakers this year.

Each week one of us will say - in that time? I bake bread at home, two just out of the oven, yes, you can produce a loaf in a couple of hours but I'd prefer it if their produce was given decent rising and proving times.

Oo. 38 posts to read. Thanks guys .
puts kettle on.

I am getting annoyed by the short time given too.

I'd much rather they were given more time and the chance to do something truly awesome than it be a test of who can turn something out half decent in not enough time.

I don't think the contestants are less talented than previous years, I think it's because of the time given.

Is the time given less than in previous years?

Hard to compare like for like daily because the challenges are different, but there certainly seem to be more where the judges are saying "timing is going to be key here" and more underbaked/raw things coming out?

This has been a great to read with my second morning cuppa.Thanks.

What Chikara said about choosing diverse people rings true. It would be a boring old show if everyone fit the stereo type WI baker sort ie me - I will miss the lovely gentle Kate.

And also what Mrs Jay said about Benjamina 's half naked cake which was bang on trend for cake right now. Paul's comment about it looking unfinished was a bit uninformed I thought.

Judging has always been a bit random. One week you can't be star baker because you had a bad round earlier in the day.

Next the week you can come from the back of the pack and cinche it. .

I'm inclined to agree because when GBBO started I was totally in awe of the talents of the bakers and always thought "I could never do that. Ever".

However, in the batter week, I could have done better with the yorkshire puds. No meat or roasties in the oven, just yorkshire pudding with filling, yet some just couldn't manage it. I make a mean yorkshire pud Never ever before did I think I could manage anything better than some of the contestants, this is the first year!

I do worry what will happen when it gets to C4.

One fridge and a race to get your creation in there to chill
Times cut again and a race to finish anything half decent
Ridiculous technical challenges that even PH can't manage in a month of Sundays

I agree with the comments on here and was only saying the same to a friend this morning. Proving bread dough and making pastry takes time and care. Making cakes takes care and should not be rushed. The time limits are too short and the contestants have been set up to fail. I will not bother when it moves to C4.

I was in awe that no one could get their yorkshires right. I make more consistent ones gluten free in an oven with everything else. If I had nothing but yorkshires and the ability to bake 4 dozen in order to get 12 identical I'd have no issue.

Rave was one of those who seemed to be able to bake well but not decorate. I wonder if the pressure to make things look good means there's more who can decorate but not bake well

But the people who were messing up their Yorkshires were all confident that they'd be able to make them before they started. I wonder if using an unfamiliar oven has a bigger impact on the results than we give it credit for.

Magik - I wondered about the conditions in the tent too, as there are so many basic things that aren't working properly.

I think they're all good (and much better than me), but there seems to be no-one who really stands out in the way that, for example, Richard, Nancy, Luis and Chetna did two years ago. I'd also like them to have enough time to complete their technicals. I've only been watching since series 4 so might go back and watch the earlier ones if they're online to compare.

On last night's episode Mary admitted that the time was tight for them to complete the technical challenge. It's quite frustrating.